Get the Ring of It

Coach Storm Sims gave me a look one time at a race, a crazy sideways look. I’d just told him I had fallen off the rig, again. If you aren’t sure what the “rig” is at a race, it’s a combination of rings, and sometimes others things like ropes and hanging baseballs. It’s oftentimes near where the spectators can see the racers, and this was a common place in the race for me to end up on my face, frustrated and doing penalty burpees.

Coach Storm always been so nice about telling me he’d bring rings by my house, we’d find a park with rings or monkey bars, and he was right when he said I’d get better. I did. It wasn’t just my grip or my lack of confidence. It was also my hips-I had to get swinging!

When you walk into Total OCR (and you should, soon), you’ll see five rings. Doesn’t seem like a lot, no, but they aren’t the closely spaced together rings you’d see at most races, either. They are spaced far enough apart that you have to have grip (of course), but you must have your technique solid in order to get across all five.

Can you do this? Yes, you can. Is it easy? No, and it can be frustrating, but the feeling of accomplishment is worth the try-it-again attitude that Coach Storm has for everyone.

Sometimes, the hardest part is just getting started. For others, it’s the feeling of “I can’t” after trying so many times.

Just like I said in the beginning, though, about falling and thinking I couldn’t do it: It takes time, and practice, and you absolutely CAN do this.